Ann Hutchison Nov. 26,
2001
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
(Phone: 650/604-3039 or 650/604-9000)
e-mail: ahutchison@mail.arc.nasa.gov
Release: 01-91AR
QUAIL EGGS TO PROVIDE CLUES TO EFFECTS OF MICROGRAVITY
Hardware that will help scientists better understand the effects of
microgravity on avian development is set to fly into space later this
week. Launch of the STS-108 mission on space shuttle Endeavour is set for
Nov. 29 from Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
The Avian Development Facility (ADF) is designed to support space
experiments that use Japanese quail eggs. The primary objective of flying
the ADF on the upcoming mission is to validate its subsystems and reduce
the risk in developing a possible next generation of avian development
hardware.
"The Avian Development Facility provides optimal incubation conditions for
embryo development during flight," said Randy Berthold, Ph.D., ADF project
manager at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. "It
also minimizes crew time and improves the science return by using advanced
telerobotics and teleoperations."
Secondary objectives of this flight will be support of two peer-reviewed
experiments that will study how the lack of gravity affects the
development of avian embryos. Stephen Doty, Ph.D., of the Hospital for
Special Surgery in New York City, will study the effects of space flight
on embryonic skeletal development. The development and function of the
avian vestibular system will be the focus of a study by David Dickman,
Ph.D., of the Central Institute of the Deaf, Washington University, St.
Louis, Mo.
The ADF is a fully automated avian egg incubator that requires no crew
interaction with the eggs. Avian eggs are ideally suited for microgravity
research because they are self-contained and self-sustaining. "The ADF
provides a snapshot of embryogenesis in space using the avian embryos as a
biological model," Berthold added.
The ADF will house 36 Japanese quail eggs in egg holders, which are
designed to isolate the eggs from vibration, to minimize any effects of
launch and re-entry on the developing embryos. The egg holders are mounted
on two rotating centrifuges that will provide either exposure to
microgravity or to a gravity force equivalent to that found on Earth.
Interior environmental temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and oxygen
concentration can be pre-programmed to provide optimal incubation
conditions for embryo development. The ADF also has an automated
fixative-injection system that can be programmed to fix, or preserve, the
embryos at specific times during incubation. The egg holder is designed
with a secondary containment system to prevent leaking of injected
fixative into the incubator. The ADF rotates the eggs 180 degrees every
hour, similar to turning in a natural environment. The facility fits into
a space shuttle middeck locker location.
The ADF is one of several research habitats being developed by the Space
Station Biological Research Project (SSBRP) at NASA Ames. SSBRP is
responsible for managing the development of several habitats that provide
life support, environmental control, and monitoring systems for various
research subjects and specimens. The habitats are being developed to
operate with three major host systems: the variable-gravity, 2.5-meter
centrifuge; the microgravity holding racks; and the Life Sciences
Glovebox. In addition, SSBRP will manage the development of various
laboratory equipment items needed for science operations. More information
about the Space Station Biological Research Project is available at:
http://brp.arc.nasa.gov/ Additional details about Ames' life sciences
research can be found at: http://lifesci.arc.nasa.gov/
Space Hardware Optimization Technology, Inc. (SHOT), of Greenville, Ind.,
developed the ADF for NASA Ames. SHOT's previous avian development
hardware flew on the space shuttle in 1986 and 1989. Information about
SHOT is available at: http://www.shot.com.
The two ADF experiments are supported by NASA's Office of Biological and
Physical Research, which promotes basic and applied research to support
human exploration of space and to take advantage of the space environment
as a laboratory. More information is available at:
http://spaceresearch.nasa.gov/
"The ADF provides a unique opportunity to study fundamental biological
processes in ways that cannot be done here on Earth." said SHOT project
engineer Rachel Ormsby. "The information collected from this mission is
expected to help Earth-based biotechnology and health care research leap
forward toward cures or treatments that may otherwise not have been
realized."
-end-